Years ago I put a motion activated light switch in Master bedroom closet. Ever since, when the wind blows, the light comes on! No, nothing is moving in the closet. Closet is deep inside house away from drafts windows, etc. I even covered over light switch and light still comes on.

Blustery fall/winter days or now with the Santa Ana winds were having in southern Kalifornia, running 5 to 3 MPH right now as I type.

Any collective thoughts on why light is coming on? Safety issues? Electricity and how it works is the class I forgot to take as I am pretty weak in this area.

Thanks for the thoughts.

Try removing the cover. There are usually sensitivity and duration settings. If available, turn down sensitivity. If not replace the switch.

Is it possible your power is glitching when the wind blows?

My motion lights uses heat along with motion. Maybe the temp change in closet draft.

My other suggestion involves a priest .... ....

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
Is it possible your power is glitching when the wind blows?

Gets my vote.

Something is shifting in the structure of your house every time the wind blows and it's being picked up by the motion sensor?

I once lived in a new construction ('stick built') townhouse and when the wind would blow you could actually feel the house sway a tiny bit on the second floor.

my interior garage light kept coming on , on its own ,

turned my c.c.t.v. cam to watch it,

a mouse was setting it off

I'm going with getting the Priest. How they work is akin to magic. I had one out in the garage that would go off when a loud truck goes past. Or a mufflerless motorcycle. The problem being that in turn would set off the intrusion alarm. I finally hot wired it. I may be bored, but not that bored. The last time I checked, the connector was still in place and I haven't had an alarm. Its been years. I blame it on a bad motion detector.

My alarm guy said I could replace it if I wanted , but the garage has so many redundant sensors that I didn't. We had one at work that was temperature sensitive. Clearly not a problem in the closet. My suggestion would be to replace it, probably with another manufacturers switch.

My master bedroom closet has an attic access in the ceiling. We don't use it, but it's there and could allow a draft I suppose...

Just imagine if you lived near Monica!

My house is relatively efficient - Lots of insulation, high-quality double-pane windows, insulated siding, etc. I've noticed that if I take almost any outlet or switch cover off, I can feel a slight draft coming directly through the hole in the dry wall.

I'm wondering if you might have a similar situation - and the wind might increase this somehow, and the motion activated switch senses it as movement...

quote:

Originally posted by Skins2881:
Try removing the cover. There are usually sensitivity and duration settings. If available, turn down sensitivity. If not replace the switch.

I'm going to open it and check for settings..

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
Is it possible your power is glitching when the wind blows?

"glitching"?? Not sure what that is. No other electrical issue in house when wind blows. what's "glitching"?